Work Text:
What happens when you write an essay for fun at 12AM once you figure out how similar your favorite characters, in this point in time, are? And in what senses are they similar? Falst is one of the members of the primary cast within the webcomic Aurora by Red of Overly Sarcastic Productions. Aurora is about the adventures of Kendal who awoke within the care of an elemental healer named Alinua after he was split from the incarnated form of Vash, a god who was captured by the “Collector” after his city was destroyed. Inuyasha is one of the main characters in the anime and manga sharing his name about the adventures of a young girl from modern Tokyo transported to Feudal Japan, where demons lie in wait of the power she possesses within a sacred jewel. While their stories appear vastly different, they express similarities in several multitudes. Falst and Inuyasha both show similarities in their characters through personality, backstory, and appearance.
Falst from Aurora and Inuyasha show alike qualities in their personality throughout the run of their stories (I’m not done with Inuyasha and Aurora has not finished yet, but I think this still works as an argument.). Falst is shown to be a hot-headed character who gets into disagreements with party members regularly, particularly in the beginning of his introduction when his ideas clash with new people like Erin when he tries to make himself fully human. Coincidentally, Inuyasha is harsh towards others as well, most so when new characters join his party like Shippo and later the rest of his gang since he dislikes others and, most likely, being pushed away from his goals. However, both Inuyasha and Falst have one character in their respective teams that they get along with the best and are repeatedly depicted looking out for: Kagome and Dainix. Inuyasha and Kagome build their relationship within the anime by worrying about each other, getting the other out of sticky situations, listening to the other, and going on adventures. Falst seems to do all the above with Dainix, and their bond grows ever deeper for it.
The similarities of Falst and Inuyasha’s backstories strengthen the argument of their parallel qualities in characterization. During his introductory arc in Aurora, Falst wishes to use a magical stone to turn fully human, particularly due to his experience with others ostracizing him for his animalistic features. As it happens, Inuyasha wanted to make use of a magical stone called the Shikon Jewel to turn human to live happily with his first love, but he also has a flashback in an episode where he was bullied for not entirely being the same species as the people around him. Additionally, both Inuyasha and Falst’s mothers died tragically when they were young and were continually haunted by the event. For Falst, he got a flashback of the event when trapped in an underground abandoned settlement. In Inuyasha’s case, his love towards his mother was abused by his older brother Sesshōmaru who attempted to kill him.
Inuyasha and Falst share characterizations, whether intentional or not, especially in appearances. Inuyasha is a half-demon with long fluffy hair that ends in points and dog ears that sit atop his head. Falst also has animal ears and fluffy hair drawn in an alike style. Inuyasha tends to crouch down in a style resembling how a dog may sit, usually when perched on branches, and Falst is shown to also do this. Inuyasha smiles when taking on a challenge or combat and Falst is noted by Red to smile when nervous. One could say that entering a combat scenario would make you nervous, so Falst seems to share a trait here as well.
To conclude, Falst from Aurora and Inuyasha from the anime sharing his name are alike in character through their personality, backstory, and appearance. They share personality traits in how they seem brash at first meeting, but within carry a heart that cares about their friends and allies. Inuyasha and Falst have backstories with similar plot beats and tragic losses. Finally, they possess parallel appearances in their animal-related designs.